Spring.



s. IvIccLoun.

SPRING.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I9. 1911.

UNiTnn sTaTns PATENT onirica.

'SILDNEYV MGCLUD, OF SOUTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPRING.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY MCCLOUD, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Chicago, Cook county, State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Springs, of which the following,taken in connection with the drawing, is a description.

My invention has for its object the production of a resilient bar orspring of metal formed of a plurality of thicknesses which have beenbent, folded and overlapped and compressed together by passing themthrough rollers or the like while the metal is in a more or less heatedstate at less than a weld-v ing heat.

A further object of my invention is to produce an article of this kindby means of which I am able to overcome certain imperfectons found inmetals as now made, even of the best steel or iron, which containportions having a lack or an excess of carbon, thereby rendering thematerial brittle in such portions and easily liable to break, and whencracked or broken the entire article has to be discarded as useless.

A further object of my invention is to produce a single bar of metal sobent, folded and overlapped as to present a plurality of thicknessessuperposed one above the other out of which such articles as leafsprings, for instance, may be formed. By my construction each springwill have a plurality of layers which will extend from end to end of thearticle and be shaped to give strength where strength is needed, at thesame time to afford the resiliency desired in the use of such an articleand always present greater tensile and compression strength than ispossible with a bar of metal formed of a solid piece.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated what I now consider thebest form of my construction, although it is obvious it may be employedin other constructions than this form of spring, and in this drawing,

Figure l is a side elevation of my construction utilized in a leafspring;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view of a portion of the spring; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse, sectional view of the same.

In forming bars of this character I first provide a sheet of met-alwhich is rolled the desired length and thickness and at theSpecification of Letters Patent.

point of bending is rolled slightly thinner 1n cross section thanelsewhere. This facilitates the bending operation and permits the partsto be closely compressed together in the shape desired.

' Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

Application led February 19, 1917. Serial No. 149,430.

Referring to the drawing, A represents 5.1

the side of a leaf spring whichl is formed in the manner described andin which the sheet of metal has been rolled thinner at the outer endsthereof than at the center where the folded inside the bar.

The plate forming the spring is rolled while hot and the rolls arrangedso that the plate will have longitudinal lines for bending -the materialwhich are thinner in cross section, as at a', than are the laminationsforming the bar.

After the material has vbeen bent and folded along longitudinal lines itis further compressed in the rolls until the different laminations arepressed closely together, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the severallaminatlons being in Contact with each other but not welded together atany point.

The bar may be further compressed in the rolls to elongate the materialin the form desired for an article of manufacture, such as a leafspring, with the outer ends thereof B reduced in thickness, as shown inthe drawing. In this case, each of the laminations extend to the ends ofthe bar and present the desired resiliency and flexibility of each plateor lamination of the material.

I do not wish to be limited to the manner of folding the material ashere shown, as Vit 1s obvious it may be bent and compressed togetherinthe form of corrugations or vin any other mannerwhich Would present aatsurface .or bar having a plurality of laminations 1n its thickness,the idea being to provide a flat bar of material formed of a pluralityof thicknesses extending from end to end thereof, so bent, folded andoverlapped as to have the outward appearance of a single bar, but whichis in reality made up of a number of folds or sections bent andoverlapped together` as shown.

In the formation of bars of this kind I wish to be understood ascontemplating the folding of two or more plates laid upon each otherbefore bending and yoverlapping in the manner shown, as Well as the useof a single plate as here described.

I claim:

l. As a neu7 article of manufacture, a spring formed of a sheet ofmaterial which is bent, folded and overlapped upon itself in Contactingrelationship to form a flat surface, substantially as described.

2. As a new article of manufact-ure, a spring formed of a sheet ofmetal, which is thinner in cross section along certain separatedlongitudinal areas than is the body of the'sheet, the sheet beingbent orfolded along such areas to overlap the adjacent portions of the body ofthe sheet into contacting relationship to form a bar.

3. As a neu7 article of manufacture, a spring formed of a sheet of metalbent, folded and overlapped to form a plurality of laminal'ionscompressed closely but not welded together, substantially as described.

4L. As a new article of manufacture, a

spring formed of a sheet of metal bent, folded and overlapped to form aplurality of laminations compressed closely but not Welded together,each lamination extending from end to end of the material, substantiallyas described.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a spring formed of metal bent andfolded into a plurality of laminations Witlrthe edges thereof uneXposed,substantially as' described.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a spring formed of metal having aplurality of laminations bent, folded and overlapped upon each other andcompressed into oontacting relationship to present a folded surface, butwith said laminations not Welded together, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

SIDNEY MCCLOUD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G

